HFCL inks deal with Qualcomm to make 5G Outdoor Small Cell products

Homegrown telecom gear maker HFCL Limited, today, announced an agreement with American chipmaker Qualcomm, to develop 5G Outdoor Small Cell products that support both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) 5G networks.

Small cells are low-power, short-range wireless transmission base stations that cover small areas, both indoors and outdoors. They’re used in locations with dense population, like urban areas, stadiums, malls, airports and more. They can be used for both LTE and 5G networks, and are expected to play a key role in delivering other low latency applications as 5G networks rollout.

HFCL and Qualcomm had inked another agreement back in August to deliver millimeter wave (mmWave) products. Qualcomm also said, in August, that the company would be working with telecom major Reliance Jio on mmWave technology, which allows high speed networks to be delivered in dense urban areas, but over short distances.

Speaking to the media in Delhi earlier this week, Cristiano Amon, the chief executive officer of Qualcomm, told reporters that there is a “lot of activity” in the mmWave space in India, for providing connectivity in areas where fiber cannot be used for last-mile connectivity. 

“As we think about building a gigabit society, there’s only two technologies to provide connectivity — fiber or 5G. You cannot build a gigabit society over copper, so there's a lot of opportunity in mmWave for that application. The next one is private networks, (and there’s) a lot of activity about how to deploy mmWave for the enterprise,” he added.

In a press release today, HFCL said that the company’s 5G Outdoor Small Cell supports Qualcomm’s FSM 200xx 5G RAN Platform for Small Cell antennas. 

“As 5G becomes mainstream in India, small cells will be crucial for successful 5G infrastructure in realizing the potential of IoT and smart cities,” said Rajen Vagadia, Vice President, Qualcomm India Private Limited and President, Qualcomm India & SAARC, today.